Sleep, screens and tired eyes

A long day at a screen, then an evening on the phone, then a short night. Many people know how their eyes feel the next morning: heavy, dry, slow to focus. Sleep and screens are tangled together in daily life, and both are worth looking at if your eyes often feel tired.

How much sleep adults need

The CDC cites recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society that adults aged 18 to 60 sleep at least 7 hours a night. In a CDC study using 2014 survey data, more than a third of American adults weren't getting enough sleep on a regular basis.

The National Eye Institute also lists getting about 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night among its tips for people with dry eye.

Screens, blinking and evening eyes

The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that focusing on a screen can reduce blinking by a third to a half, which can dry out the eyes. If you've spent the day at a computer and the evening on a phone, your eyes may have had a long stretch of reduced blinking. That can add to the gritty, tired feeling some people notice by bedtime. See our pages on eye strain and dry eyes.

What about blue light and sleep?

This question comes up often. A 2023 Cochrane review of blue light filtering glasses found the evidence on sleep was mixed: of six trials that measured sleep, three reported better scores with the glasses and three found no clear difference. The certainty was rated very low, so the reviewers couldn't say whether they help. Our post on blue light glasses covers the review in more detail.

Whatever the role of the light itself, screens in bed can keep you awake simply by being engaging. The CDC's sleep advice includes keeping televisions, computers and mobile devices out of the bedroom.

Evening habits worth trying

• Keep a regular schedule. The CDC suggests going to bed and getting up at the same time each day.
• Charge your phone outside the bedroom. Or at least out of reach of the bed, in line with the CDC's advice on devices.
• Set a screen cut-off. Choose a time to put devices away and do something else, such as reading a paper book or listening to something.
• Give your eyes breaks in the evening too. The 20-20-20 rule works on the sofa as well as at a desk.
• Make text bigger and the screen dimmer. The AAO notes that a screen much brighter than the room makes your eyes work harder. Matching brightness to a dim room is more comfortable.
• Mind the air. The NEI suggests a humidifier if indoor air is dry, and avoiding air blowing at your face.

Watching for a pattern

Tired eyes can have many causes. If you want to see how your evenings relate to how your eyes feel, try a simple note for two weeks: what time you went to bed, roughly how long you slept, your evening screen time, and how your eyes felt in the morning. A journal such as Ocufuse can keep these notes in one place. It won't tell you what's causing anything, but it gives you and your doctor something concrete to look at.

Morning eye care

• Don't sleep in contact lenses unless your eye care professional has prescribed them for overnight wear. See our post on contact lens habits.
• Remove eye make-up before bed.
• Avoid rubbing your eyes when you wake up, even if they feel gritty.

When to see someone

Talk to an optometrist or doctor if:

• Your eyes are regularly dry, sore or red in the morning
• Tired eyes or blurry vision carry on even after good sleep
• You often wake with eyelids stuck together or crusty
• You have ongoing trouble sleeping, or feel very sleepy in the day despite enough time in bed